


Starving Faithful

by CaptainCasButt



Category: Hannibal (TV), Hannibal Lecter Series - All Media Types
Genre: But the angst doesn't last long, Disturbing Themes, Fluff and Angst, Hannibal is a Cannibal, I seriously don't know how to tag this, I will add more tags later, Katz&Dogs is my brotp, Kid!Fic, M/M, Manipulation, Murder Husbands, Possessive Hannibal, Smut possibly in the future, Teen!fic, Wendigo AU, Wendigo!Hannibal - Freeform, Will is a Cannibal, dark!Will
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-02
Updated: 2014-09-06
Packaged: 2018-02-15 22:57:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2246457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainCasButt/pseuds/CaptainCasButt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wendigo AU</p><p>Hannibal Lecter grows up as a wendigo hidden from the world behind his human suit. He is told not to get to close to humans, but that plan changes when he meets a very interesting boy named Will Graham, whom he is determined to make his own.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Childhood: The Family Dinner

**Author's Note:**

> I had a long list of AU prompts and this was one that I really wanted to write. I'm so nervous about my writing like I just hope I do some justice to this fandom and all it's wonderful fic writers :)

Hannibal Lector was a very precocious child. He was not only highly intelligent, but also very cunning with a wise maturity much older than a boy of only ten years. However, his father had taught him many things, like how to hunt, and remain in his human form. You see, they were quite different from other families, his mother would always remind him. They were not humans, but only appeared that way through transformations and human suits. Hannibal was elated on the day where he could finally control his transformations and was allowed to do normal things all the other children did, like go to school. Even a trip to the grocery store with his mother was a treasured experience.  
Hannibal enjoyed school the most. He was always wanting to learn and become and thrive just as the other children did. He was fascinated by the nature of humans. When Hannibal brought up the subject of his interest in the medical field at dinner one night, his parents only laughed at the irony.  
"What an odd choice of career for a wendigo to choose", his father said "We don't help humans like that, we only help our own." The comedy had suddenly gotten dark, as Hannibal's mother excused herself from the table to clean the dishes, and his sister, Mischa, asked to go to her room. Hannibal was left alone with his father feeling embarrassed for bringing it up at all. He excused himself to leave, getting up from the table before having his father grab his arm tightly, and turn his face so he was looking him straight in the eyes.  
"Now, don't go off getting close to humans, Hannibal, because when they find out what you truly are, they won't accept you. They will only be afraid and then you will have to kill them. I don't want you to have to go through that" His father's eyes glazed over in a dead cold stare and he was wearing a stern frown that was always reserved for disappointments. Hannibal only shook his head and ran up to his room as quickly as he could, making sure his mother didn't see the tears that fell from his eyes as he rushed by her.  
He was suddenly filled with anger, fat streams of tears flowing from his flushed red face. He punched the side of his wall in irritation, not to hard to hurt his hand, but enough to dent the wall. He instantly regretted it and moved the picture on the wall to cover it, hoping his parents would not see. It was a picture Mischa had drawn of their family when they were younger. He looked at it fondly for a moment, forgetting his anger.  
"It's just so unfair" he said to himself as he plopped onto his bed with a hard thud. It were times like these where Hannibal hated being a wendigo, where he wanted nothing more then to runaway and pretend to be human forever. It wasn't that he necessarily hated being wendigo, he didn't even care for humans all that much. It was more of an anger of not being able to have the same opportunities that humans had in a world they thought of as only theirs. He was angry at the fact he would never fit in, never have long lasting friends, always having secrets, and never being close enough to the cute boy with the brown curly hair, the bright blue eyes, and the sweet shy smile.


	2. Childhood: Lunch with Friends

The next day, Hannibal went to school feeling like there were rocks in the pit of his stomach. He began to wonder if there were other kids like him. Wendigos in hiding, pretending to be normal everyday children. He wondered if any of his teachers were wendigos also, but figured that it was too much of a human interacting job. He scoffed, remembering his fathers words from the previous night. His father was right, and that was the part that upset him the most. Just knowing that no one would ever know the truth, that there was no one who would ever understand.  
By the time the lunch bell rang, Hannibal had realized that he was so worried about last night that he had forgotten how hungry he was. He walked outside with his lunchbox in tow, to have Alana and Jack waving at him from their usual lunch spot. Alana was a pretty girl, with an intelligence and grace, that was rare at such a young age. She reminded him of the good side of the human race. Hannibal would like to believe she liked him. Sometimes on the playground she would insist that they pretend to be a couple. He didn't mind, Alana was nice.  
Jack was a little harder to warm up to. He was kind, he cared, and Hannibal considered him a good friend. Jack would come to him for advice, which pleased Hannibal greatly and always seemed to boost his ego. However, he was loud and bossy at times. Other times he was quite, and lost in thought. Hannibal didn't mind that either.  
Hannibal walked over and set his lunchbox on the table in his usual seat. "Hello, Alana. Hello, Jack" he said finally sitting down.  
"Hey, Hannibal!" Alana yelled enthusiastically. Jack nodded. "You seemed upset this morning" Alana pouted, while unzipping her sandwich bag, "You didn't even hug me like you usually do"  
"I must apologize, I was lost in thought. My father and I had a quick argument last night and it's been sticking with me, but I think I'm fine now"  
"Would you like to talk about it?" Alana asked, sounding concerned. It wasn't like Hannibal to be so obviously bothered.  
"No" Hannibal answered. He was about to attempt to change the subject when Jack beat him to it.  
"There he is again" he said turning towards the boy sitting alone at a table. Hannibal and Alana turned their heads to face him. Both Jack and Hannibal had been watching the boy for days. Both for separate reasons. Neither making a move. Jack felt a sympathetic tug towards the boy. A want to befriend and comfort this new friendless child. Hannibal's feeling were slightly different. He felt something else, like a deep flutter in his stomach every time he looked at the boy. A great desire to pet the top of his curly head and to hug him, not in the way he hugged Alana, but flush against his chest where the boy would never escape.  
No one ever went near him. Most people said he was too strange. One day, he was approached by Freddie Lounds, a noisy girl, always in other people business. She asked him why he sat by himself and why he was "so weird". The boy just flushed red, a beautiful color in Hannibal's opinion, and bowed his head so he didn't have to look at her. Hannibal wasn't afraid to go near the boy, he refused to approach the boy only because he was afraid he would get too attached. Something his father would never approve of; being too involved with a human.  
Suddenly, as Hannibal, Alana, and Jack continued to watch the boy, a couple other students approached him. From the distance Hannibal could see the boy's body go stiff and uncomfortable as one of the kids, who was much larger, got into his face, and snatched up his glasses. Will gave a distressful noise, which sent an odd feeling shooting down Hannibal's spine. Hannibal suddenly jumped up from his seat and approached them. Jack and Alana looking on in surprise.  
"What are you doing?" Hannibal asked the group who were obviously teasing the boy.  
One of the boys, who appeared to be the leader, spoke up "We're just messing around, no need to get prissy with us"  
"Well I think it's time you stop. He doesn't like you messing with him" Hannibal had never had to deal with bullies before. He often got the occasional rude child who would question his accent or his clothes, but it was all out of curiosity. Hannibal wasn't quite sure how to deal with bullies.  
"Well, obviously he doesn't like it" said one of the other boys, "That's why it's fun." They all laughed in unison, and Hannibal chanced a quick glance at the tormented boy, who had a tiny stream of tears streaking his face. The sight sent a furious punch to Hannibal's gut and had one flying straight to the leader's face. And then another one. And another. Until all the other children had scattered. The kid now had blood gushing from his nose and spilling out his mouth. He let out a whine, dropping the pair of glasses and running away without a word.  
Hannibal had never felt so powerful. He could feel it flowing through his veins, a sense of pride and independence that he had never felt before. He would plant that picture of the boys bleeding face and store it in his mind forever. Maybe one day he might revisit it and it will remind him of how he felt on this day. He slowly picked up the glasses and handed them to the blushing boy.  
"Thank you" the boy said, with a smile. A smile directed specifically for him, it almost made his breathe hitch.  
"You're Welcome" Hannibal said, taking a seat by the boy, "I'm Hannibal, Hannibal Lector" he offered his hand.  
The boy was stared at it for a while before shaking it, "I'm Will, Will Graham" he said. He was still refusing to make eye contact, but Hannibal let it slide because he actually touched the boy! No, he wasn't the boy anymore, he was Will. They both smiled before Will spoke again, "That was really cool, the way you fought him like that" he laughed almost.  
"I was surprised I did it myself" Hannibal replied, sitting up straighter. He looked down at his blood stained hands before continuing in almost a whisper, "It felt good"  
Will gave a smirk and then stopped to stare at Hannibal's hands in awe and in a whisper that almost matched Hannibal's own replied "It looked like it felt good." And in that moment Hannibal knew Will had to be his.  
Just then, Alana and Jack came running over.  
"I can't believe you did that, Hannibal!" Alana shouted disappointedly as she sat down at the table. She handed him his lunchbox and he grabbed it as they sat down, completely ignoring her statement.  
"Alana, and Jack, this is Will Graham" they all shook hands and smiled, sitting next to each other. They began to eat when Hannibal noticed Will had nothing. "Have you already eaten?" He asked.  
"No, I don't bring lunches because I can't afford them. Sometimes I bring sandwiches" he said avoiding the stares of everyone at the table.  
Without thinking Hannibal spoke up again, "Well you can share some of mine" he pushed it forward.  
"No, I can't take your food" Will shook his head.  
"No, please, I insist" Hannibal stated in a way that made the decision finale.  
"Okay, thank you" Will smiled, taking a little bite of a piece of the chicken Hannibal had given him. Hannibal had even forgotten that it wasn't really chicken.


	3. Childhood: Family Confrontation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, Thank you so much for the comments and the kudos :) Also, I'm sorry about the format, my indentations are being dumb and won't upload properly, but whateves. 
> 
> I had written the third chapter and perfected it and then it got accidentally deleted and I was so upset it was unreal. I had to write it over again and it's not nearly as good as the first one I wrote but I just wanted to get it out of the way to move on to the good stuff. Next chapter will also probably be the last kid!verse parts (unless anyone wants more) and then I will start moving in to the teenage years. But please tell me if you have any ideas or suggestions.

Hannibal swung his legs back and forth as he sat in the large cushioned chair outside of the principles office. The bully Hannibal had fought to protect Will, had told the teacher on him, and now his father was having a talk with the principle. Hannibal wasn't worried about what his father's reaction would be afterwards. He imagined he might even be proud. He would say that the violence was in their nature. However, he doubted his mother would condone his behavior so easily.  
Telling his father he had fought to protect another human was a different story. Will was special, and Hannibal had to preserve that, even if no one understood it. Apparently, it was very odd for humans to become so attached to another person they had only just met. Not uncommon, just odd. Hannibal try to blend into this notion by attempting to convince Alana and Jack that he just wanted to comfort Will, and he only hit the bully to let out some of his anger that he had felt earlier that day. Alana didn't seem fully convinced.  
Hannibal thought back to the image of the boy with blood flowing from his face and something inside of him seemed to nudge at his pride. He would protect Will like that again if he had to. He'd protect him to the ends of the earth and even after that, but it wasn't the only feeling he harvested in that moment. Hannibal had discovered that he quite liked the violence, or more so the pain he had afflicted on the young boy. He only wished it hadn't been so messy.  
Hannibal had been lost in thought when his father came out of the office. He kneeled down, so he was at Hannibal's eye level. Hannibal saw no ounce of disappointment reflected at him.  
"Hannibal, we have things to discuss when we return home" his father said. Hannibal looked over his fathers shoulders staring through the window, blurring him out of his focus. There was a bird was perched upon a tree limb, ruffling its feathers and producing loud chirping noises. Hannibal began to wonder what sort of noises the bird would make if he were to pluck it's feathers one by one, and cut it down the middle.  
"Yes, sir" he replied.

When Hannibal and his father arrived at their home, Hannibal was greeted with a big hug from his sister Mischa. Mischa was one of the dearest things in Hannibal's life. She was only three years younger than him, but it felt like they were a hundred years apart. Hannibal could remember when she was only a baby, just beginning to talk. That was the first time Hannibal had gotten close enough to experience the true purity of selfless human love.  
It often dawned on him that one day Mischa wouldn't need him anymore. One day she would leave him, and he would be alone. He might not be able to stop Mischa from leaving him but he wasn't going to let the same thing happen to Will Graham.  
"You're late" Mischa teased, clinging to him, and looking up with a sneaky grin, "Mom, said you had to stay after school cause you got in trouble." Hannibal hugged her back and looked down at her fondly.  
"Mischa," their father responded, "your mother and I have to speak to Hannibal. You should go clean your room" Mischa looked up with a pout before letting go of Hannibal, nodding slightly, and running up to her room. Hannibal's father grabbed him by the shoulders and steered him into the living room where his mother sat, flipping through one of her home decor magazines.  
"Hannibal, would you like to tell your mother what happened at school today?" His mother put her magazine down, and looked to her son, as if waiting for a response. The air became crisp with silence and the stench of anticipation lingering in the room.  
"I punched a kid in the face" he stated plainly. His mother looked at him in shock, and his father gave a small smirk. If Hannibal wasn't in trouble, he would of found it hilarious. His mother didn't answer at first, only stared at him in contemplation. The silence was dragging on and was really starting to get on his nerves, until his mother finally spoke up.  
"That was rude Hannibal. Why on earth would you do such a thing?" She asked. Hannibal didn't want to tell his parents but answered confidently anyways.  
"I was protecting someone."  
Once again both parents remained silent. Hannibal twisted his weight from one foot to the next almost dancing slightly in a nervousness he wasn't aware was present until now, before the silence was broken.  
"That was very kind of you, Hannibal" his mother responded and Hannibal could of died of pure shock. Both of his parents sat expressionless and both seemed unconcerned. It made Hannibal slightly irritated that they had made him wait in silence, but had not punished him or technically praised him for his actions. Their non responsive demeanor was giving spark to Hannibal's young rebellious streak. He wanted them to respond enthusiastically or with anger. He desired to see their nature.  
Before he knew what he was doing, he began to spill out the details of everything that had happen, even including his embarrassing reaction to Will's distressed whine, and the way he felt when the blood poured from the bully's face. His parents remained silent.  
"And so I shared some of my lunch with him" Hannibal continued. That seemed to startle his parents unexpectedly. They both glanced at each other, before his father turned to him with a hard stare.  
"Never do that again" his voice was rough and full of heat. Hannibal didn't understand why his father had suddenly gotten so angry with him.  
"What? Give him my food? I didn't tell him what it really was. I lied about it" Hannibal objected, hoping that would settle the uproar he could envision, slowly bubbling to the surface.  
"It doesn't matter" his father shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck, continuing in a much quieter voice, "Just don't do it, again, okay?" He walked out of the living room with a huff.  
"Why is he so angry? What did I do wrong, Mother?" Hannibal looked at her with pleading eyes and she approached him, embracing him, and stroking his hair back.  
"Its a difficult thing to explain in full. But it's very important that you don't do that again" she whispered, "something bad could of happened to your friend"  
Hannibal's eyes widened in shock and worry. Something bad? What if he had cause the death of his Will? Hannibal would never forgive himself. He would travel through time and death to rescue his Will. His mother seemed to feel the tension in her son, and attempted to calm him once again.  
"Do not worry yourself. Your friend will be fine, it was only once but it's a good thing you told us of that detail. If it had occurred constantly, especially in the presence of another wendigo, it could have triggered a transformation in your friend"  
Hannibal looked up at her, with slightly wet and questioning eyes, "You mean Will could become like one of us." That idea sounded quite pleasing.  
"Yes," she let go of her son and looked at his curious expression "that is why it is very important that you don't let it happen again, okay?"  
"Okay" Hannibal lied.


End file.
